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Deal with it

Young Parsis take up the mantle for the community

Parsi community to promote togetherness and camaraderie through a series of programmes to be organised by the Xtremely Young Zoroastrians (XYZ).
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

The Parsi community is a riddle to all other communities in Mumbai: there are less than one lakh of them in the city, but they are mostly moneyed, highly educated and extremely revered as a community. The Parsis are intimately connected with Mumbai’s history, and though they don’t have the numbers, the community has left its mark on the city’s social fabric.

In order to keep the flame alive and create a sense of belonging and pride amongst the youngsters of the Zoroastrian Community, the newly established XYZ (Xtremely Young Zoroastrians) organisation has devised several programmes in the service of the community.

The organisation was launched yesterday at a South Mumbai-based auditorium, with the motto ‘Pursuit of Happiness’. XYZ would strive towards promoting togetherness and camaraderie through the series of programmes, to be conducted throughout the year.

Children from the Parsi community presented various religious and cultural performances, while there were other community talks and the awarding of an achiever from the community. “The launch ceremony also observed formation of an executive council of young Zoroastrians and an advisory board of renowned dignitaries from the Zoroastrian community. Under the able guidance of their holy Priest, the young Zoroastrians, all in the age-group from 5 to 15 years took the pledge to keep the flame alive by devising several programmes in the service of the community. These young Zoroastrians who would act as office bearers for XYZ were named after their historic figures, such as Daraius’ Daredevils from Colaba, Cyrus’ Superstars from Tardeo, Jamshed’s Giants from Byculla, Homai’s Heroes from Parel, Behram’s Battalion from Dadar, Rustom’s Rockstars from Bandra and Tehmurasp’s Titans from Andheri,” explained Hoshaang Gotla, founder of XYZ.

He added, “The XYZ-organised programmes will begin on Christmas Day, whereby the young Zoroastrians will pay visits to orphanages and old age homes across the city and gift the destitute children and the differently-abled ones. This is an attempt to bring a smile on their face and give them a ray of hope. Further, XYZ would strive towards building a strong sense of belonging and pride amongst the Zoroastrian children for their community. The religious values are an important part of our culture and we want our children to start adhering to them from an early age. The range of activities that would be carried out by XYZ would include developing leadership skills like goal setting, decision making, team work, people skills and money management and ethics.”

XYZ strongly believes that they would be able to create a sense of belonging and pride amongst the young Zoroastrians and preach the values laid down by the Zoroastrian Community.

What do you think of this initiative? Tell us in the comments section below.

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Deal with it

From today, loiter for two weeks

Five Mumbai-based women launch the ‘Why Loiter’ initiative from today; invite women to ‘loiter’ in public spaces and document themselves doing so.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Starting today, women in Mumbai are invited to loiter in public spaces of their choice – and document themselves doing so. The ‘Why Loiter’ campaign starts in Mumbai today, and will continue till January 1, 2015.

Authors of Why Loiter The brainchild of five Mumbai women – Shilpa Ranade, Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan (in pic on left), Neha Singh and Devina Kapoor – the initiative aims to focus the spotlight on gender imbalance in Indian society, and specifically with our society’s way of blaming the (female) victims of assault. What’s more, as the five say, they want to bring the ‘debate back to women’s right to have fun in the city’. The initiative invites women to share their pictures and experiences on social media using the hashtag #whyloiter.

Shilpa Ranade, Shilpa Phadke and Sameera Khan responded to The Metrognome’s questions on the initiative:

What prompted the ‘#WhyLoiter’ campaign?

We are responding to the victim blaming and shaming that takes place after most reported incidences of assault. We are also responding to the fact that increasingly violence has become the only language in which one can talk about gender in the public. We want to bring back the debate to women’s right to the city and just as importantly, women’s right to have fun in the city. The idea is to create a sense of a community of women in public space so that we can remind ourselves and other women that we are not alone. In doing so, we hope to create a conversation and target victim blaming in order to assert women’s right to the city, the right to take risks.

We are telling people that on the #whyloiter events page on FB that we will be sharing a series of posters inviting women to hang out as also a set of messages with them. We will also put out a series of tweets. So when anyone hangs out in the city having a good time, we are asking them to please post these to FB, Twitter, Instagram, Four Square, always using the hashtag #whyloiter. We also encourage them to create their own messages, art work and tweets and share them with us.

Here is what people can do to participate:

1. Starting December 16, you can change your profile picture/cover picture to one of the posters we’re sharing. Better still, use all the four on different days. Or simply share the posters on your page to build awareness.

2. At all times, particularly between December 16 and January 1, update your status on FB or tweet or share a photo via Instagram when you are having a good time in public and use the hashtag #whyloiter.

3. You can also follow us @whyloiter and share the tweet messages we are sharing on twitter.

4. Share the fact that you are loitering and if you like share your location too so we can create an exciting map of where women are loitering in the city.

Who conceived the initiative? 

There are five of us: Three of us Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan and Shilpa Ranade are authors of the book Why Loiter? Women and Risk on Mumbai Streets and have been engaging with these issues for a decade now.

Two of us, Neha Singh and Devina Kapoor having read the book have taken on the ideas of the book and with a growing group of women actively loiter in the city every weekend. (See this blog for more information) We also had the help of Nishant John, an advertising professional with some help from a designer friend of his, Abhishek Jayaprakash, who put together and designed the posters you will see on the events page starting December 16. It was in fact Nishant’s poster idea that set us on the route to this campaign.

How did you spread awareness about it?

Mostly on Facebook and twitter as it is an online event – and by getting friends to spread the word.

Do you plan to involve men as well?

Absolutely. All who support women’s right to public space at all times are welcome to join in. It is also inclusive of all queer people and transwomen as well.

Have you tied up with the Mumbai police or any city-based NGOs to reinforce the message further?

Not at this point, though we are in continuing conversation with many organisations and initiatives working on issues related to women’s access to public space.

What is your expectation out of the initiative?

That we will be able to generate a wide ranging and nuanced public debate on women’s right to the city. And just as importantly to talk about women’s right to loiter, to simply hang out and have fun in the city.

Is this an initiative only for Mumbai?

No. It is for ANY city in the world.

What has been the initial response to it?

People are rather delighted and excited by the possibilities. We hope it becomes truly something people take ownership of. At Kavita Krishnan’s suggestion, we are now collecting words in different languages that mean loitering. Check it out on the event page.

Why the two-week duration for it?

We are beginning on December 16, the two-year anniversary of the horrific Delhi gangrape and murder. To mark this day and to assert our right to public space as citizens, and to register our voices as an act of resistance, we are getting together for this online event.

And we are going on till New Year’s Day – especially since people usually have a good time on New Year’s Eve and we hope people will update their Facebook statuses and tweet from wherever they are having fun using the hashtag #whyloiter. It would be great if there were many voices so that we start the year on a  bang – and hopefully it will gather so much momentum that it can go on and on.

What are your thoughts on the overall attitude that ‘Mumbai is safer for women than other Indian cities’?

You know, our book has many pages answering just that question. The short answer is that yes Mumbai is relatively friendlier and more accessible but it’s really far from enough. And we have a very long way to go.

To participate in the initiative, follow @whyloiter on Twitter, www.facebook.com/why.loiter on Facebook. Use the hashtag: #whyloiter every time you post a picture on your own social media channels.

 (Picture courtesy Tejal Pandey, badalja.com)

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Deal with it

When a blanket steps in to fight dengue

Two Mumbai based sisters and entrepreneurs are taking the gentle route to fighting dengue and malaria with a mosquito-repelling blanket.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Mumbai is currently grappling with an unprecedented crisis brought on by the spread of dengue and malaria. The city has already reported almost 700 cases of dengue with almost 20 lives lost due to the dreaded illness. The malaria count is almost ten times more, say municipal authorities.

Adding to the fight against the disease, after mosquito-repelling sprays and fogging by BMC authorities, are two Mumbai sisters Shreya and Kasturi Poddar, who have created a mosquito-repelling blanket that is said to be an effective tool to fight mosquitoes. The blankets were recently distributed to underprivileged children from Ashok High School in Gurgaon last week.

Shreya and Kasturi PoddarShreya and Kasturi (in pic on left) are the directors of Nidra Home, makers of Mos-Quit-O blankes. After the distribution event, Shreya said, “Nobody is safe from dengue and malaria. Research suggests that even two inches of water, in a puddle or in a potted plant, is enough for a dengue mosquito to lay eggs. This means preventing dengue is impossible without a foolproof method of repelling mosquitoes inside every home.”

Mos-Quit-O has been developed and marketed by the entrepreneur sister duo who set up Nidra Home. After degrees in textiles and design (from the Chelsea College of Art and Design, London), a short stint with the Fashion Institute of New York and a general restlessness with the monotony of their family export business, Kasturi longed to do something never done before in retail. “During my research, I stumbled upon the concept of mosquito repellents embedded in fabric. That’s how Mos-Quit-O was conceived.” After year-long trials, chemical tests and technical specs were finalised, psychology post-graduate Shreya brought in her marketing acumen in the supply chain and distribution of the product. Nidra Home has recently launched a baby version of this blanket.

Mos-Quit-O claims to be free of odour and side effects. According to the World Health Organisation standards, Mos-Quit-O blankets have been deemed 100 per cent effective as a repellent even after 50 washes, and perfectly safe for infants and toddlers. “If you wash it once a month, Mos-Quit-O proves effective for more than four years,” Kasturi explains. The blanket is priced at Rs 1,999 and the baby blanket costs Rs 999.

“The blanket works out to be cheaper than plug-ins which require constant refills, expensive creams, ineffective wristbands or patches,” Kasturi explains. “It is especially convenient to repel mosquitoes around infants and toddlers on whom creams and plug-ins prove harmful.”

Said Shaina NC, BJP politician and spokesperson, who distributed blankets at the school, “There has been a steep rise in the numbers of dengue and malaria. I have observed that young children, often without access to clean amenities and hygienic surroundings, are most vulnerable. A large committed effort is needed to combat health issues in our city. At this point, creating awareness about mosquito prevention is most crucial.”

Mumbai in the grip of dengue and malaria:

– More than 690 cases of dengue detected in Mumbai.

– The city is the second to rural Chandrapur in being the worst-affected in Maharashtra.

– Surprisingly, 85 per cent of all cases have come from affluent and middle class localities in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

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Deal with it

Watch out for this ‘cancer van’ in Mumbai

Recently inaugurated by CM Devendra Fadnavis, the mobile van will offer free diagnostic services and will tour the State, too.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Cancer is a huge threat to India today. It is killing increasing numbers of Indians every year, and many more are found to have the disease. Several succumb to it owing to lack of proper diagnosis in the early stages of the disease.

It is this latter element that is a big worry for health professionals – the lack of proper diagnosis, which enables the disease to spread unabated and become difficult to control at an advanced stage. Keeping this in mind, the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis recently inaugurated the State’s first mobile cancer van that will tour all over Maharashtra and travel to other parts of the country as well.

Conceptualised and operationalised by the Mumbai-based Shri Subhaschandra Runwal Education Foundation and the All India Marwari Yuva Manch, the van is said to be fitted out with the latest equipment and know-how required in cancer diagnostics. Patients will be screened and tested for free, and additional inputs on their condition will also be sought with a research laboratory based in Canada. Said an official connected with the initiative, “The van will travel all over Maharashtra, and also Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. We are hoping that our initiative will help in the fight against achieving a cancer-free India.”

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Take note of Indian folk artistes, Bollywood: Santosh Sawant

Noted folk music artist and now film director, Santosh Sawant wants Bollywood to feature more folk music to popularise it.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Maharashtra has a rich tradition of folk music but many popular forms of folk music entertainment such as Bharuds, Gondhals, Lavanis, Povadas, Bhaleris, Palanes and Artya have slowly gone off the radar, and are now on their way to extinction. It is a sad state of affairs indeed, that people have forgotten the folk forms peculiar to their home States, as Hindi film music pervades our collective music consciousness.

Actor, filmmaker and music composer Santosh Sawant, aka ‘Pawa’ (meaning ‘flute’ in Marathi), wants the new BJP Government in Maharashtra to save folk singers in the State who are struggling for survival. ‘Pawa’ is a gifted folk singer himself, who tried, unsuccessfully, to gain acceptance in Bollywood – owing to his non-mainstream voice. He is known as a foremost exponent of ‘jhamela’, a form of folk song that throws light on the complexities and tragedies of life. “But I persevered and cut an album with the help of T-series in 2010,” he says. “It was called Voice of The Heart. I am now ready to launch my debut Hindi feature film project titled Jhamela which will showcase the life of a folk singer.” The film is inspired by Sawant’s own life and details jhamela as an art form, among other things. “I hope to make folk music more popular through this film. I shall first show it at 45 renowned international film festivals before showcasing it in India,” says Santosh.

Why the spotlight on folk music?

‘Pawa’ is an engineer by qualification who was born in Ratnagiri but who came to Mumbai for higher studies and stayed on. He had a successful career in the machinery exports business, but his love for music often made him restless. “I was born in the idyllic Kolisare in Ratnagiri, which has lush green hills on one side and pristine virgin beaches on the other side. People here were totally disconnected from the modern world, and I grew up in a culture of folk music, folk dances and folk plays which were displayed during the Jalsa, a local fair prevalant in Konkan,” he remembers, adding that his performances at these fairs earned him the ‘Pawa’ nickname.

'Pawa' performs on stage (1)He claims he has an acting degree from London, and speaks with bitterness of how Bollywood shunned him because “they didn’t want to take a chance with an actor who dabbled in folk music.” Today, he says he works to further the cause of folk music in India and abroad.

Incidentally, during the recent State Elections, the BJP was said to employ around 200 folk singers to campaign for it. Says ‘Pawa’, “I want the BJP to continue its association with folk singers through scholarships, donations and other forms of support.

“Maharashtra’s zestful folk music has the power to hold the audience spellbound. Folk songs have often formed an important part of Indian movies and some of them are memorable to the day. They are melodious, tug at your heart and often end up having repeat value. While folks songs from different regions have gained mass popularity, it is the original folk singer who somewhere down the line faded into oblivion. Rarely has Bollywood rallied around any folk artiste to give them mass coverage and publicity. I think Bollywood should stop neglecting folk singers.”

At present, folk music is being practiced in the approximately 50 Kala Kendras across Maharashtra, most of them in the Marathwada region. There are around 130 travelling Tamasha troupes that perform seasonally and approximately 15 full-time troupes that perform all through the year. Nearly all of them are fighting for survival.

“The modern film viewer has a warped and skewed notion of folk music as most of it is fed by what various regional and national movie industries are churning out. For example, for the viewer, a Lavani is just another item number adding masala to a movie. To add insult to injury, these dances are performed by mainstream actresses, as no one wants to cast the women who have lived and breathed this dance for centuries,” ‘Pawa’ fumes.

Any takers?

Ask him if anybody’s really interested in folk music these days, and he says, “Of course people are interested, they just need to be exposed to folk music. I have my own band, and we have taken Jhamela all across India and even abroad. We use traditional instruments like harmonium and dholki while staging our folk songs and plays. People love the simplicity associated with our songs which we use to denote the great complexities that human life deals with regularly.”

‘Pawa’ says he hopes his film will find resonance even among the urban viewers. “We need to make our folk music, and our folk artistes, more mainstream,” he says. “It is unfortunate that so many are living in oblivion and poverty.”

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Deal with it

‘Swachh Bharat’ is not just a campaign

It has become a trendy new phrase, but maybe we need to take the ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign beyond mere tokenism. Maybe we should try seriously adopting it.
Pooja Birwatkarby Dr Pooja Birwatkar

‘Swachh Bharat’ is the new ‘in’ thing for the country. When the campaign was launched in October this year, I, like so many others, instantly dismissed it as another campaign which would quickly gather dust as fast as it initially gained momentum. But though it is still in its infancy, the campaign has thus far proved us wrong about its estimated short-lived sustenance.

What is most remarkable about this programme is that it has captured the hearts of the nation’s young the most – in itself, a major achievement. What a way to go, if the future of this country is most enamored by this campaign! The other day, my little son and his six-year-old cousin reprimanded an adult who was about to throw an empty chips packet on the street with the words, “Don’t litter, Modiji ne mana kiya hai.”

So why did this particular campaign strike a chord? Is it merely the charisma of Narendra Modi who launched the campaign? Is it something else? One cannot deny that Modi has been the single most powerful force that has made the campaign what it is. But if you think about it, he merely stated what he have now adopted as a way of life in India. His sentiment that gandagi has crept so deep into our system that we have learnt to live with it to the extent that we condition ourselves to overlook it. Yet, subconsciously, gandagi has always bothered us. Which could explain why the first thing anybody on a first-time trip abroad will say on his or her return is, “People don’t throw garbage on the streets there. Everything was so clean! Yahan aisa nahin hai.”

Let’s talk about our own city – Mumbai, the heart of India, a city famous across the world for both its famous and infamous attributes. But just look at the city and what we have turned it into. Filth in IndiaVehicular traffic, a population bulging at the seams, dearth of greenery, plenty of noise and dirt, garbage strewn all over, filthy beaches, polluted air, numerous diseases, poverty, slums…this is the overall picture of this metropolis.

As we marvel over the huge towers and amenity-laden buildings in Mumbai, just peep at the fringes. The magnificent houses with French windows open to a whole world of garbage, but we are able to miraculously able to look beyond it and focus only on the clouds above. We are all collectively living in a big garbage bin, and then we have the gall to call this indifferent attitude ‘the spirit of Mumbai’. And why are we so proud of this ‘spirit’ anyway, if it makes us immune to these evils of our own doing? We even go a step further and expect the BMC and the Government to clean up after us – after all, we pay taxes, do we not? So cleanliness and hygiene is not our problem.

A campaign like ‘Swachh Bharat’ has shaken us. Even more so, because the country’s PM was the first one to pick up a broom. Suddenly, dusting doesn’t look like such a lowly job.

But simply realising the problem is not enough. We have to fuel this campaign at all times. It doesn’t matter if everybody doesn’t participate in it – let’s pledge to first clean our city and not focus simply on our own homes. Mumbai is home to all of us, and it is everybody’s responsibility to ensure its good health.

Dr Pooja Birwatkar is currently pursuing post doctoral research and working in the area of science education. She has been associated with the field of education in the past as a teacher educator, and her area of interest is research in education. 

(Pictures courtesy deccanchronicle.com, www.ndtv.com)

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